Unexpected Company
by Farmer Jen
Summary: May makes a new friend, who happens to be quite misunderstood.


Marty walked along the dusty trail, his feet getting dustier with every step. This "Mineral Town" place was so hot and dirty. He couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to live here. Heck, he didn't know why he was there himself. Why did he ever leave his hometown of Alaska?  
  
Marty had seriously considered becoming a farmer, but that was before the accident. The twenty-three year old man had been involved in a near-fatal car accident six months ago. He woke up in the hospital later, and found that he couldn't see in color anymore. His voice box was ruined, and what sounds he made sounded like some kind of bird. He was also approximately three feet tall. Apparently, he was now so disfigured that it made his family members burst out crying whenever they saw him, and Marty was too afraid to look in a mirror. All he knew of his appearance was what he could see from looking down. His nose appeared to be long and beak-like, and he couldn't see past his rounded belly. His arms were very short, and he had no fingers. It was almost like he was in another body. Marty had also had a curiously strong desire to go swimming, but he couldn't figure it out.  
  
Once Marty had recovered enough to walk around (his legs were so short that it was more like a waddle), his family suggested that he go to Mineral Town, the place he had planned to become a farmer at. When he walked in, he ran into a tall man with red hair and a blue hat. The man looked down at the thing that had bumped into his legs.  
  
"Hi," said Marty. "I'm Marty. What's your name?"  
  
The man's eyes widened, and for a few seconds he just stared unbelievingly at his new acquaintance. Then he smacked his forehead. "I gotta quit that stuff," he said, and kept walking.  
  
Marty stared sadly after the man. Nobody seemed to acknowledge him these days. Sure, a few kids said, "look, Mommy! It's that thing from the zoo!" but that really wasn't the same. He couldn't be so hideous as to be compared to an animal, could he? He shook his head. "They don't even treat me like a decent human being."  
  
Soon Marty came to a large building that looked like a library. He walked inside, pushing the door. He was a little stressed when he had to turn a handle or pull on a door. He could always ask the librarian to help him get out again.  
  
Behind the reception desk stood a somewhat mousy girl, with scraggly black hair and thick glasses. She looked around at the sound of the door opening, obviously startled.  
  
"W-who's there?" she asked, stuttering.  
  
Marty stood at his full height, which was about 3'2. "Excuse me, miss," he said, smiling his best. "Would you please tell me where I could find the folklore section?"  
  
The woman looked down at him, surprised. She got up and went toward the door, edging around Marty in as wide a circle as she could manage. She opened it, and gestured out. "I-I don't know how you got here, little fellow, but you'd better go back to where you came from." With that, she nudged him with her foot, pushing him toward the door.  
  
He fell on the pavement outside, and the librarian watched as he struggled to get up. "I've really got to quit that stuff," she said, and closed the door behind her. Marty dusted himself off as best he could and continued down the pavement.  
  
His next stop would have been at the local grocery store, but he would have had to twist the doorknob to get in. 'I need a drink,' he thought, and headed off toward the local Inn. Luckily, this place had a push-door, most likely for people who got so brainlessly drunk that they couldn't manage to twist a doorknob.  
  
The place was bustling with noise and laughter, but it all stopped when Marty walked in. The awkwardness of his situation weighed down on him. "Uh," he said lamely, "Hey there. I'm Marty."  
  
All of the people in the room glanced toward a lone man who looked like a botanist who was holding a batch of mushrooms. They all shook their heads at him. The man looked at the mushrooms critically, and then rummaged in the large backpack at his feet. He took out a Ziploc bag labeled "Hallucinogenic," dropped the mushrooms inside it, and placed it back in his backpack. Marty sighed and left the Inn.  
  
He walked on until he came to a lovely looking hot spring. It looked much too hot for him, though, so he decided to take a dip in the little stream nearby. As he relaxed in the cool water, he heard two people talking together.  
  
"Why can't I stay home alone while you go here, Grandpa? I hate the hot springs! They're so...hot!"  
  
The other voice chuckled. "I know, May," he said. "You can play by the Goddess Pond while I warm up these old bones." Marty heard the sound of someone getting into water, and followed by the sound of footsteps approaching.  
  
He looked up. In front of him stood a gorgeous little girl with a loud red dress and black hair pulled into pigtails. She was a little taller than him, though not by much. She had pretty grey eyes filled with a look of utter boredom. He decided to try and cheer the girl up. "Hi," he said. "I'm Marty. You're May, right?"  
  
The little girl looked at him in shock, and then beamed. She grabbed Marty in a tight hug. "You're so cute!" she squealed. Marty was in a position that he would have been happy in given that the woman holding him were more developed than this one. As it was, he felt a lack of air.  
  
"You're squishing me!" he cried desperately.  
  
The girl released him. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "How did you know my name?"  
  
Marty looked at her, astonished. This was the first person that had ever replied to him - even his family members didn't understand what he was saying. "You can hear me?" he whispered.  
  
May smiled. "Of course I can!" she exclaimed. Marty had a feeling wash over him, a feeling that all was right in the world. He talked with May until the sun started sinking on the western horizon.  
  
"I'd better go now, May," he said sadly. "My train will be leaving soon." She had been the first person he talked to since his accident, and he was sad to leave her.  
  
May looked tearfully at him, her gray eyes a tempestuous storm. "Bye Marty!" she cried, hugging him tightly. He tried his best to hug her back. "Bye, May," he replied, and walked in that waddle-like way of his off to the train station.  
  
May stared in the direction that her friend had gone until she felt her grandfather's hand on her shoulder. "Why so glum, honey?" he asked.  
  
May smiled again, her happy time with Marty coming back to her. "Oh Grandpa, I just made a great friend! He had so many stories to tell, and he was so nice! And," she added, looking slyly up at her grandparent, "he was kinda cute, too...."  
  
"...for a penguin, that is." 


End file.
